Man to be Sentenced in $7 Million Sports Drink Fraud

A California man who pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud in connection with accusations he bilked investors out of millions in his sports drink company is set to be sentenced Wednesday.

Sep 23rd, 2015

LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A California man who pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud in connection with accusations he bilked investors out of millions in his sports drink company is set to be sentenced Wednesday.

Randy Olshen, of Newport Beach, California, created a fake set of records to make it seem like sales of the drink H20 Overdrive were making much more money than they actually were over a four-year period, prosecutors said.

In 2012, for example, Olshen reported $28 million in sales when the actual sales were only $579,200, according to charging documents.

Prosecutors say more than 50 people lost a total of $7 million in the scheme that started when Olshen began fabricating paperwork to inflate the value of his company in 2009, while he was living in Park City, Utah.

As president of Innovative Health Solutions, he also falsely claimed he had accounts to sell the drinks designed to boost energy and stamina at several national chains, including Costco, Rite Aid, CVS and Food Lion, charging documents said.

Even as he made those claims to investors, Olshen, 52, declared bankruptcy in 2011 and used company money for personal expenses, prosecutors said.

He agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors in May, acknowledging that he significantly over-reported his company's earnings to investors from 2009 to 2013.

He is facing 4.5 years in prison under the terms of a plea deal, and a judge has also ordered him to forfeit more than $7 million. Several charges were dismissed in exchange for his guilty pleas.